By Omoh Gabriel, Ben Agande & Levinus Nwabughiogu LAGOS – ON the heels of the Federal Government’s plan to borrow US$29.9 billion over the next two years, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said that there was an urgent need for the Federal Government to formulate an economic blueprint or road-map for the medium term. DMO made the observation in its 2016 Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) report released yesterday in Abuja. This is just as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is averring that the bid would take Nigeria back into the “captivity of the Paris Club of debtor nations, which a preceding PDP administration exited Nigeria from.” Dr. Abraham Nwankwo Director-General Debt Management and President Muhammadu Buhari Also yesterday, the Federal Government said that the 2016 budget has recorded a performance of 50 per cent, especially in capital expenditures, even as it expressed hope that barring any negative interferences, the documentation of 2017 budget estimates would be concluded and sent to the National Assembly next month. According to the DMO, the formulation of a blueprint will engender confidence in both local and international investors on the way forward. The blueprint has become imperative since the investor perception of the country’s outlook is critical to economic recovery. “In view of the fall in Federal Government’s revenue, the government should reinforce its initiatives aimed at diversifying the productive base of the economy, thus improving the non-oil revenue receipt,” it stated. The DMO said that concrete and urgent steps should be taken to broaden the nation’s tax base and improve efficiency in tax administration and collection. The report said given the country’s huge infrastructure needs, the government should sustain the policy of allocating a minimum of 30 per cent of its budget to capital investments. It said that judicious utilisation of such funds was necessary for infrastructure development and urged the government to ensure the strict adherence to the annual national budget calendar to facilitate growth recovery and reduce fiscal slippages and delays in budget implementation. The report noted that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly was long overdue and should be given speedy attention. PDP kicks, says it’s anti-people The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, meanwhile, has strongly objected to the administration’s financing plans describing it as anti-people and a move that would drag Nigeria into the capitivity of the Paris Club of debtor nations which a preceding PDP government liberated Nigeria from. While asking the National Assembly to reject the President’s request, the PDP charged the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration to explain what it has done with the unprecedented haul of recovered looted funds saying that history will not forgive the APC administration if it goes ahead to put the yoke of suppressive debt on the nation. The PDP statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye read in part: “We totally disagree with the APC led Federal Government on this latest move, and call on President Muhammed Buhari to first and foremost explain to Nigerians what his administration has done with the so called ‘recovered looted funds’ and how far the 2016 Budget is fairing. Also, President Buhari must itemize what he intends to finance with this proposed borrowing of almost $30b instead of lumping it up in a coded term, and to plunge the nation’s future into burden of debt. More so, this approach cannot be the preferred solution to the economic quagmire which this Government created due to ineptitude. “This government budgeted the Sum of N6.07trn for the 2016 Fiscal Year with deficit of N2.22trn and according to the breakdown, N1.8trn was budgeted for Capital Expenditure and President Buhari is now seeking to borrow over N9trn ($29.960b) for ‘critical infrastructure’. This is absurd and way outside the government budgetary provisions for Capital Expenditure and must be rejected by all well-meaning Nigerians. “Nigerians will recall that the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in June 2016 made public, through a press statement, an account of recovered looted funds between May 2015 and May 2016 amounting to the sums of N78.3b, $185.1m, £3.5m and €11,250m in cash; while others were under interim forfeiture. What happened to the recovered funds?Or is it the same funds the EFCC and DSS are planting in houses of opposition figures and Justices instead of channeling it into the economy? In addition, the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu recently confirmed our position when he stated that the Commission recovered more money in eight months than it recovered in 12 years. “Nigerians need to know how much revenue government has been able to generate from crude oil, non-oil and independent revenue sources since assumption of office from May 2015 to September 2016. This clarification will boost confidence of Nigerians on the management of their resources, especially in this period of recession before thinking of engaging in external borrowing. “It is no gain saying that the APC-led Federal Government has left no stone unturned in castigating the PDP’s 16 years as wasted even with its obvious achievements; one of which was getting reprieve from the Paris Club of Creditors.The APC led Federal Government is again taking Nigeria prior to Year 2005 when external debt burden derailed the growth of Nigeria economy and weakened the GDP before the total cancellation of her debt. This proposed action of the APC’s government will be a great injustice to the citizens of this country now and in the future if they are plunged back into debt. “Let us state unequivocally, that history will not forgive this APC Government and its collaborators if they allow this injustice and maladministration to our economy and citizens to stand. We, therefore, call on the two Chambers of the National Assembly to reject this anti-people request by an anti-people government that has no genuine interest for the growth and development of the people of this country. “We again call on all Nigerians to speak with one voice and stop President Buhari from further destroying our great nation, Nigeria and by extension, Africa.” 2017 Budget ready next month — Minister Meanwhile, the federal government has expressed hope that barring any negative interferences, the documentation of 2017 budget estimates would be concluded and sent to the National Assembly next month. To this end, it is expected that the implementation of the budget would commence in earnest January 2017, with a view to getting Nigeria out of economic recession. Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, gave the hint yesterday while fielding questions from newsmen at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. Ahmed, who was asked to rate the performance of the 2016 budget, stated that the budget had recorded 50 per cent implementation, especially in the capital expenditure. She also justified the request of the President to the National Assembly to borrow $29billion, saying it was to make up the deficit in the 2016 budget. She said: “The 2017 budget preparation is at an advanced stage, the Economic Management Team has reviewed it extensively, the next step is that it is going to be brought into the Federal Executive Council for approval, thereafter it will be sent to the National Assembly. “Concerning the borrowing plan that Mr. President has sent to the National Assembly for 2016, indeed included in the borrowing plan is the amount that is required for both local and foreign borrowing to fund the 2016 budget deficit. “The budget implementation itself is on course; the 2016 budget is fully performing to date in terms of personnel, that is to say we are not owing any salaries at the federal level. Operational expenditure has been disbursed for eight months and the ninth month is just being processed. “Capital expenditure has been disbursed to the tune of nearly 50 per cent. About N720 billion has been released for the MDAs as at the end of September.” Ahmed told State House correspondents that FEC also gave approval for the commencement of the home grown school feeding programme, noting that N65 billion had been earmarked for release in the first phase. She also stated that N30,000 had been approved to pay each graduate teachers who would be engaged in the teaching programme, while soft loans would be provided for the less privileged and the vulnerable in the society. “The Budget Ministry presented a memo to Council for notation and implementation on the progress of national roll out of the social investment Programme. “The programmes are in four parts. First is the homegrown school feeding Programme which is targeting 5.5 million primary school pupils in all the states of the federation from primary 1-3. “As at today, 11 states are fully ready to start and the first phase will feed 3.5 million school children. “The second is a job creation programme which is aimed at preparing 500,000 university graduates, they will be equipped with devices containing information to train them as teachers, agricultural workers and also as health support workers. “They will be deployed to work in their local communities. They will be receiving a monthly stipend of N30,000 for a period of two years. “The third is the Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT, where one million care givers will be given N5000 monthly for a period of two years. Focus has been given to the extremely poor and vulnerable in our society and special emphasis is being placed on providing for as many as possible in the north eastern part of the country where a lot of internally displaced persons are. “The fourth is the enterprise promotion programme which is essentially the loan scheme that will be handled by the Bank of Industry. The 1.6 million people made up of market women, traders, artisans, small businesses, youths will be given loan from N10,000 to N100,000, with a repayment period of three to six months and administration cost of five per cent. “N500billion was budgeted for the social investment Programme in the 2016 budget. We are rolling out with this first four programmes and it will continue till 2017”, she explained.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/fg-needs-new-plan-economy-dmo/

Bottom line is there is no idea on how to getvus out.
Throwing in more money won't solve any problem.
If the need help .
Let them simply send me a p.m

989900D:
My problem with the funds is, utilization; not the borrowing. They can borrow a trillion dollars -- I don't care, but can we justify prudent, astute and honest utilization?

From all indications, utilization is zero.

Jonathan signed the 2015 budget in May 2015, the same month that he left power.

The 2015 budget was 4.5 trillion naira.

In December 2015, Senate approved 0.57 trillion naira supplementary budget. In total, Buhari received N5T in 2015.

In 2016, he has already signed a 6.3T naira budget, and already sent a 1T naira supplementary budget.

So, please tell me, how has Buhari UTILIZED N11.3T in 17 months to warrant your blind optimism.

I understand how educated people can be so daft.

This is the same way you guys trumpeted him as Nigeria's solution when he showed no sign of deserving such support when he did nothing to improve himself in 30 years.

Now, he has squandered N11.3T for nothing. Save the N150b monthly wage bill (N2.5T in 17 months) and the less than N400b budgeted for the legislature and judiciary, what did Buhari use N8.4T for?

At an average rate of #252/$1 (199 + 305 / 2), N8.4T is $33.3b.

If the man could not utilize $33.3b effectively, how do you justify handing him $29.9 in borrowed money. This is besides the at least $45b we would earn in the next two years.

You don't fix a broken bucket by leaving the tap open.

In fact, the Senate should urgently pursue a bill to fix a fiscal ceiling, else it will be decades before we would be able to recover from the heavy indebtedness.

Buhari and his corrupt cohorts are using the recession as an excuse to loot our commonwealth like never before in Nigeria's history, while not even leaving anything tangible.

Every PDP administration left something tangible even with the institutionalized looting. By comparison, the APC administration has thrown caution to the wind. It is as if they have the feeling they may not come back, and so they're siphoning money brazenly through all available openings in preparation of 2019. So that even if they fail in 2019, they still have a large payday to take home.

And it's working because people like you are too blind to notice sodomy even when the d*** is inside your rectum.

All they have to do is distract you with an exciting news story every week, while they keep blasting our commonwealth to the smithereens.

I'm sick of this. Because when push comes to shove and the collectors come for the repayment of their loans, you can bet your balls that it'd be subsidy removal (yup there's still subsidy), increase of tax, vat, etc that would be used. They'll probably sell our Nat'l assets too, if they've not auctioned them already by then.

And in those days, I hope you'll find the voice to explain to your kids and dependants on how you let a senile, dull retired-general without an SSCE certificate and his band of purposeless thieves do you over, while you concentrated on phantom corruption cases and terrible lies.

If you were even part of the people looting the economy or eating the largesse via ricetivism or needless appointments, I wouldn't be as annoyed as I am with you now.

At least PDP supporters know the administration stole, but left something. APC renegades don't know they're being f****d, don't want to accept they're being f*****d after someone else shows them the used condom, and will never take a moment to even consider the thought.

That's what I call compound foolery.

-Lord

989900D:
My problem with the funds is, utilization; not the borrowing. They can borrow a trillion dollars -- I don't care, but can we justify prudent, astute and honest utilization?

[size=13pt]This is just slush funds for the next elections and you know it.

The problem is that Nigeria simply will be dragged into another unsustainable debt trap again where we spend 45% of our budget just to service interest accrued from the debts and not even to pay back.

If we can barely maintain our infrastructure even with the whole 100% of our budget under our control, think what will happen when you have only 55% - 60% of what is available now to run the entire country.[/size]